Ghenghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Napolean Bonaparte - were they midgets?

Question

..I heard somewhere that these famous historical people were actually very small in stature. Any truth in this??

Now I'm confused..I knew Napolean was small. Somewhere I heard Julius Caesar was only about 5ft 2in, and strangest of all Ghenghis Khan was less than 5 ft tall. Can anyone verify one way or the other? Thanks all.

Answer 1

People in general are getting taller over the course of history, But they weren't that much shorter. Horses have been used since at least 4000 BCE, which indicates that as far back as then, people were at least tall enough to ride horses.

The average height of an ancient Roman was about 5'-6. So you can figure on soldiers being anywhere from 5'-8 to 5'-11". Caesar probably fell somewhere around there.

Napoleon got the short end of the historical stick on this one. His autopsied height was 5'-2" IMPERIAL INCHES. In standard English measure, he was 5'-6". Nothing to write home about, but nothing particularly bad, either. The misconception comes from the fact that Napoleon's Imperial Guard were made up of the tallest men in the Army, making him look diminutive by comparison.

There isn't anyway of telling what Ghengis Khan's height was, but there is nothing written of him that speak of him being short. Considering that he spent most of his life on the back of a horse, its unlikely that he was extraordinarily short.

Answer 2

The height has changed because of feeding habits, everywhere. 30 years ago, a tall (5'10 and up) Japanese was a rarity while now a Japanese person less than 5 ft in height is only found among the old people. I was once in a museum in British Columbia that has a 19th Century sailing ship as main exhibit; the berths and the height of the ceiling in the cabins were very short and it was explained by the fact that people then were shorter than today. So, if Napoleon was short (5'5) by today's standards, he was probably average in his time. Caesar's height has been better explained by someone before. As to Genghis Khan, I'm sure any of us would have found him impossing because of his reputation.

Answer 3

RE:
Ghenghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Napolean Bonaparte - were they midgets?
..I heard somewhere that these famous historical people were actually very small in stature. Any truth in this??

Answer 4

Not midgets. 'Small in stature' isn't the same as dwarfism, by any means. Certainly, Bonaparte was shorter than the average, but Caesar was about average for his time, and the accounts I've read suggest that Ghenghis Khan was of average height for a Mongol.

Answer 5

Napoleon was probably short, even for his time's standards.

Julius Caesar I heard he was considered tall.

Now Genghis Khan, hmmm, who knows? Not many written records about his physique, I guess he was an average Mongol, spending half his time on a horse, so probably he was bowlegged... which may have made him look short and have that "midget walk".

In the past nomadic people were taller in average than sedentary people , it is only until advanced agriculture and higher living standards came along that sedentary people got big again. If you look at our hunter gatherer ancestors the Cromagnon men, they were tall and tough: 6 feet was the average height for a male, but soon after the mega fauna went extinct and we started feeding on crops, the average height went down, and it has steadily being rising since.

Answer 6

Genghis Khan Height

Answer 7

695 (Years since the foundation of Rome.) Or he could have measured it from the first Olympiad - I'd have to look that up. Often Romans used a political calendar, and would say 'In the second year of the consulship of Gaius Julius Caesar and Pompius Maximus' etc.

Answer 8

Napoleon was about 1.68 metres tall. A French inch is longer than an Imperial inch, which has confused Englishmen and Americans for centuries. I've never heard anything about Khan and Caesar being short. Probably just two more stupid myths.

Answer 9

An average Mongolian man is 10cm shorter than an European, approximately 165cm, so Ghenghis Khan could be a shortie, too, but heavy built shortie.
With ( )-shaped legs due to horse-riding from baby age, the Mongolians appear even more shorter.

Answer 10

Midgets are different from people who are just short in stature. While it's true that none of them was a tree-topper, they weren't outrageously short for their cultures. They just didn't tower over their troops.